Flames and smoke are seen billowing from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. - A fire broke out at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said.Images posted on social media showed flames and huge clouds of smoke billowing above the roof of the gothic cathedral, the most visited historic monument in Europe.
(Photo by Pierre Galey / AFP) (Photo credit should read PIERRE GALEY/AFP/Getty Images)
A fire broke out at the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said. Images posted on social media showed flames and huge clouds of smoke billowing above the roof of the gothic cathedral, the most-visited historic monument in Europe.
Like all our compatriots, I am sad this evening to see this part of all of us burn," President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.
"Basically the whole rooftop is gone. I see no hope for the building," said witness Jacek Poltorak, watching the fire from a fifth-floor balcony two blocks from the southern facade of the cathedral, one of France's most visited places.
Firefighters tried to contain the blaze with water hoses and cleared the area around Notre-Dame, which sits on an island in the River Seine and marks the very centre of Paris.